Neighborhood Perceptions Among Pregnant African American Women in St. Louis, Missouri, Before and After the Shooting of Michael Brown

Rachel G Tabak, Karishma Furtado, Cynthia D Schwarz, Debra Haire-Joshu, Rachel G Tabak, Karishma Furtado, Cynthia D Schwarz, Debra Haire-Joshu

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to examine perceptions of neighborhood quality and safety before and after the death of Michael Brown and the unrest that followed. Methods: In this secondary analysis of baseline data from one site in The Lifestyle Interventions for Expectant Moms (LIFE-Moms) Consortium, pregnant African American women in the St. Louis region completed a survey of neighborhood perceptions. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between perceptions among those completing baseline surveys and entering the study before and after August 9, 2014 (range: 2012-2015), adjusted for demographic characteristics. Results: Of 267 participants, half (n=134) completed the survey after August 9, 2014. Thirty-four percent of participants completing the survey after this date felt "The crime rate in my neighborhood makes it unsafe to go on walks during the day" compared with 21% of those completing the survey before (adjusted odds ratio=2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-3.7). There were no consistently significant differences in demographic characteristics or in the remaining 16 neighborhood items. Conclusions: This study is an example of how an unexpected shift in the community context in the wake of a profound event may impact health behaviors and outcomes in a measurable way. Clinical Trials Registration: NCT01768793.

Keywords: environment; pregnancy; socioeconomic factors.

Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

© Rachel G. Tabak et al., 2020; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Percent of participants agreeing or strongly agreeing with items from the PANES before and after August 9, 2014, St. Louis, MO.

References

    1. American Public Health Association. Health Equity. 2019. Available at Accessed September20, 2019
    1. Special Supplement July 2015. Am J Public Health. 105(S3)
    1. Artiga S, Hinton E. Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity. San Francisco, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2018
    1. America: equity and equality in health (Series from the Lancet Journals). Lancet. 2017;389
    1. American Public Health Association. Creating the healthiest nation: advancing health equity. Available at: Accessed August14, 2020
    1. Paradies Y, Ben J, Denson N, et al. . Racism as a determinant of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0138511.
    1. Phelan JC, Link BG. Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in health? Annu Rev Sociol. 2015;41:311–330
    1. Purnell J, Camberos G, Fields R. For the sake of all: a report on the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis and why it matters for everyone. 2014. Available at: Accessed August14, 2020
    1. Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health. Mapping Life Expectancy. July 5, 2019. Available at Accessed September21, 2019
    1. Alang S, McAlpine D, McCreedy E, Hardeman R. Police brutality and black health: setting the agenda for public health scholars. Am J Public Health. 2017;107:662–665
    1. Chappell B. Missouri Governor Adds ‘Significantly’ To National Guard In Ferguson. 2014. Available at Accessed September21, 2019
    1. Furtado K, Banks KH. A research agenda for racial equity: applications of the Ferguson Commission Report to Public Health. Am J Public Health. 2016;106:1926–1931
    1. Kochel TR. Explaining racial differences in Ferguson's impact on local residents' trust and perceived legitimacy: policy implications for police. Crimin Just Policy Rev. 2019;30:374–405
    1. Galovski TE, Peterson ZD, Beagley MC, et al. . Exposure to violence during Ferguson Protests: mental health effects for law enforcement and community members. J Trauma Stress. 2016;29:283–292
    1. Bor J, Venkataramani AS, Williams DR, et al. . Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: a population-based, quasi-experimental study. Lancet. 2018;392:302–310
    1. Frumkin H. Health, equity, and the built environment. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113:A290–A291
    1. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Achieving health equity: why health equity matters and what you can do to help give everyone a fair shot at being as healthy as they can be. 2018. Available at Accessed September21, 2019
    1. Smith M, Hosking J, Woodward A, et al. . Systematic literature review of built environment effects on physical activity and active transport—an update and new findings on health equity. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017;14:158.
    1. Sallis JF, Kerr J, Carlson JA, et al. . Evaluating a brief self-report measure of neighborhood environments for physical activity research and surveillance: physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale (PANES). J Phys Act Health. 2010;7:533–540
    1. Ding D, Adams MA, Sallis JF, et al. . Perceived neighborhood environment and physical activity in 11 countries: do associations differ by country? Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013;10:57.
    1. Perez LG, Conway TL, Bauman A, et al. . Sociodemographic moderators of environment-physical activity associations: results from the International Prevalence Study. J Phys Act Health. 2018;15:22–29
    1. Oyeyemi AL, Adegoke BO, Oyeyemi AY, et al. . Perceived environmental correlates of physical activity and walking in African young adults. Am J Health Promot. 2011;25:e10–e19
    1. Clifton RG, Evans M, Cahill AG, et al. . Design of lifestyle intervention trials to prevent excessive gestational weight gain in women with overweight or obesity. Obesity. 2016;24:305–313
    1. Cahill AG, Haire-Joshu D, Cade WT, et al. . Weight control program and gestational weight gain in disadvantaged women with overweight or obesity: a Randomized Clinical Trial. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2018;26:485–491
    1. Haire-Joshu D, Cahill AG, Stein RI, et al. . Randomized controlled trial of home-based lifestyle therapy on postpartum weight in underserved women with overweight or obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2019;27:535–541
    1. Nix J, Pickett JT. Third-person perceptions, hostile media effects, and policing: developing a theoretical framework for assessing the Ferguson effect. J Crim Just. 2017;51:24–33
    1. Pyrooz DC, Decker SH, Wolfe SE, et al. . Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large US cities? J Crim Just. 2016;46:1–8
    1. Rosenfeld R, Wallman J. Did de-policing cause the increase in homicide rates? Criminol Public Policy. 2019;18:51–75
    1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Prevention Program. 2019. Accessed September21, 2019
    1. Cerin E, Conway TL, Adams MA, et al. . Objectively-assessed neighbourhood destination accessibility and physical activity in adults from 10 countries: an analysis of moderators and perceptions as mediators. Soc Sci Med. 2018;211:282–293
    1. Jackson FM, James SA, Owens TC. Anticipated negative police-youth encounters and depressive symptoms among pregnant African American women: a brief report. J Urban Health. 2017;94:259–265
    1. Desmond M, Papachristos AV, Kirk DS. Police violence and citizen crime reporting in the black community. Am Sociol Rev. 2016;81:857–876
    1. Bowen EA, Murshid NS. Trauma-informed social policy: a conceptual framework for policy analysis and advocacy. Am J Public Health. 2016;106:223–229
    1. Shimmin C, Wittmeier KD, Lavoie JG, et al. . Moving towards a more inclusive patient and public involvement in health research paradigm: the incorporation of a trauma-informed intersectional analysis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017;17:539.

Source: PubMed

Sponsoren und Mitarbeiter

Krankheiten

Drogeninterventionen

3
Abonnieren